Great News: SOPA and PIPA Postponed ‘Indefinitely’

While it isn’t quite the same thing as ‘killed deader than a vampire on the sunlit side of the moon’, the average Internet user and the tech world can breathe a collective sigh of relief today, as news breaks that SOPA and PIPA have been postponed indefinitely. Earlier this morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed that “in light of recent events,” a scheduled vote on PIPA would be postponed. At the same time, members of the House Judiciary Committee, the body that created SOPA, put that bill on hold. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, chief sponsor of the bill, said they will “postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution”.

While neither body will say that the bills are dead, the fact remains that the widespread website blackouts in protest of SOPA and PIPA that occurred on January 18th, and the increased public opposition prior to those protests caused a sizable number of congresspeople to flip their position on these bills. Even before Wednesday’s protests, the tide was turning. Given how effective opposition has been, it is all but guaranteed that there will be no “wider” agreement on solutions to the problem of piracy, at least in the short term. This means that for all intents and purposes, SOPA and PIPA as we know them are dead.

This should not be taken as a reason to relax however. It’s highly likely that supporters of the bills, not to mention the RIAA and MPAA, will regroup and return with either an amended version of these odious proposals, or brand new legislation that will once again seek to ruin the Internet. Still, in light of the surprise success of Wednesday’s protests, it’s safe to say those of us opposed to the bills have earned a couple of moments to celebrate. With that in mind, allow me to rub this in the MPAA and RIAA’s faces for a second:

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5 Comments on Great News: SOPA and PIPA Postponed ‘Indefinitely’

Brandon J. Clark

On January 20, 2012 at 10:49 am

HELLS ING YEAH!

Brandon J. Clark

On January 20, 2012 at 10:49 am

From the Associated Press:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was postponing a test vote set for Tuesday “in light of recent events.”

Mortimer McMire

On January 20, 2012 at 1:24 pm

Ladies and gentlemen……..

TONIGHT, WE CELEBRATE!

Brad

On January 20, 2012 at 2:47 pm

I think it’s time we started demanding some rights of hour own as media users from our government.

Companies should not be allowed to traffic in information gathered from our computers. A user should be compensated appropriately for information a company gleans from monitoring usage.

Companies need to focus more on pirates rather than new, intrusive schemes that adversely affect legitimate consumers.

Companies should not be pushing the government to pass laws that violate basic human rights.

Companies should not be allowed to absolve themselves from legal repercussions due to damages or issues incurred by use of their products. Example: They should not be able to round off class action lawsuits by throwing a disclaimer into their EULAs.

Game companies should not be making their games shorter but requiring a consumer to pay a greater cost for the software. Additionally, game companies should place a greater emphasis on ensuring their product actually works properly before release rather than forcing the consumer to download one or more hotfixes and patches at day one to make the game work.

DRM schemes should not be intrusive, and they should not require a maintained internet connection for a single player game. Some of us in America still don’t have a constant internet connection, so unless a game company want to pay for said connection, I would suggest removal of any maintained internet requirement.

Users should not be punished for legitimate complaints on a game company’s forums. As long as the complaint is phrased in a manner that does not breach decency policies on the forums. There seems to be a rash of companies banning gamers for their legitimate complaints because these gamers bring up their complaints often. The companies tend to ban and ignore these users. There is a definite level of Derek Smart-ism that now permeates game companies, “The software worked for us, so it should work for you.”

These are just a few things to consider.

In closing, I believe that we need to remain vigilant. As I’ve heard said a few times over the past few days, “Vigilance is the price of freedom.”

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